Konoha International Academy
by Utakata.Hanabi28
Summary: Sasuke cut her off and moved closer to her, "Otogakure is not a place for a girl like you," he murmured into her ear. Sasuke let go of his suitcase and hugged her, whispering "thank you" and climbed quickly on the train before it left. She may have succeeded in fooling EVERYONE that she didn't care about Sasuke. But she couldn't fool herself forever. AU High School Fanfiction.
1. One Week

**AN:** Hi! This fic is kind of like how my high school life was. If there are sudden jumps from one part to another, that's basically how it was for me… The only thing that was really 'prolonged' so to say, was drama.

The fic is set in a universe which is a sort of amalgamation of the narutoverse and our universe- So the villages we see in the narutoverse will mimic the characteristics of certain (or a mixture of) cities in our universe.

Please review and tell me what you think! :)

Chapter 1: One Week

If you listened carefully, you could hear the electrifying rhythm of the bass guitar in Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". The disco song blared through the speakers, but was sadly overpowered by the roaring sound produced by bowling balls hitting innocent pins.

It was always bowling or movies with this group. In the _same_ mall. Sakura didn't really like bowling, but tagged along anyways because most of the group enjoyed the activity. Besides, it was the holidays before 11th Grade started and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her friends. Everyone knew that the next two years would be hell, but Sakura was still enthusiastic about the prospects of studying. Most of her friends, on the other hand, weren't exactly too gung-ho on the eminent workload.

"The last two years of our school life is going to start guys. In a week!" said Ino with a dramatic sigh. They had all enjoyed their three months of long summer vacation after their 10th boards had finished.

"SO LET'S MAKE IT COUNT DATTEBAYO!" screamed Naruto as he released the fourteen kilogram bowling ball onto the aisle. All the pins toppled.

"NICE Naruto!" Kiba said while hi-fiving Naruto.

11th Grade. It _was_ going to be the most memorable and utterly _dreadful_ two years of their life according to their seniors. Every time Sakura saw Tenten in the hallway, she was muttering something about university entrance exams. Neji and Lee were always huddled over a textbook, with Lee shouting about how he would DEFINITELY memorize 'so and so' concept in one hour or do ten laps around the football field as punishment. It was going to be one hell of a ride, with the extra subjects most of them were taking and college applications. The Konoha Diploma Program was no joke – it was for the best of the best students and the high school they attended didn't make it any easier. Konoha International Academy was world-renowned for creating the most challenging scholastic program for adolescents and nurturing highly successful students who went on to receive generous scholarships from universities.

Every student had to take _at least_ three majors and three minors; one could choose to do all six subjects as majors, or five subjects as majors and one minor, so on. Additionally, the crème of the crop usually took on additional subjects to add to their repertoire. Sakura was one of them. She loved loved loved to study. Three months of holidays were great, but she couldn't really go for a long time without studying, or learning something new. Of course she didn't like ALL the subjects she took in 10th Grade, but she revelled in biology and chemistry.

Which is why medicine was probably a good choice for her.

Her best friends were her complete opposites. Naruto was loud and boisterous, not really into studying like Sakura was, but when he put his mind to his favourite subjects, he reaped brilliant results.

Ino, her other half, the perfect blonde bombshell with a killer body, was not only beautiful, but also highly intelligent. She loved to party with the seniors, and the seniors loved her, but she was smart enough to keep away from the obvious smoking and rather illegal activities that went on at any upperclassmen parties. Like Sakura, she loved biology and chemistry, and couldn't keep herself away from the latest research related to neuroscience, the science of the nervous system. Ino was in love with the mind and its cognitive capabilities. So while she was frequent party-goer, she was also a force to be reckoned with when it came to academics.

"HEY! HOW COME SHINO ISN'T HERE DATTEBAYO?" Naruto shrieked, which caused Sakura to stop musing.

"Umm... Naruto-kun… There's a convention at the Plaza… Shino-kun was looking forward to it all week…" mumbled Hinata.

"REALLY?! WHY DIDN'T HE TAKE US?!"

Shikamaru was getting quite annoyed at Naruto's loud voice. He was trying to take a nap, which was obviously quite a foolish idea since they were at a bowling alley. All the noise was messing with his ability to sleep. He knew he shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place; first of all, he couldn't see any clouds since they were indoors. Secondly, electropop music kept blaring through the speakers. God forbid they play another Lorde song. Shikamaru hated to raise his voice but desperate times called for desperate measures, "SHUT UP Naruto. For heaven's sake! Don't you remember? He told us it's about a rare species of insects found in tundra regions. Would YOU want to go for that?"

"OH RIGHT. THANKS SHIKAMARU! Ummmm… What's a tundra dattebayo?"

He just sighed and went back to 'sleep'.

"It's…. good you dropped… biology this year… Naruto-kun" stammered Hinata.

"Ecology is a huge part of it this year!" exclaimed Kiba as he got a strike.

* * *

After three rounds, they decided to grab something to eat at the coffee shop next door. "How do you think this year will be?" asked Kiba to anyone who was listening.

Between bites, Chouji said "May…be there'll be…new…..kids...fr…from diff…rent…..places?" Kiba and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"New kids? If any new kids are accepted into 11th Grade that means they must be bloody amazing students." muttered Ino as she sipped her double chocolate frappe. "Tsunade-sama was saying that there are a few new kids for sure. Some from different countries." Sakura said after gesturing to her upper lip. Ino licked her own to get the whipped cream off. "New kids huh? Imagine getting past an interview with BAA-CHAN!" squealed Naruto with a hysterical giggle.

"Well I hope we all get along…" Sakura said wistfully. She was met with a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'hmms' from those around the table.

* * *

After an hour it was finally Ino who brought up the elephant in the room, "Soo guys…. Results come out in two weeks..." she hesitantly stated. "Troublesome woman. Why would you bring results up?" Shikamaru growled while glancing at a hyperventilating Hinata.

"Come on guys… I know we'll do well! We all studied so hard right?" Sakura said optimistically. Deep down inside she knew she needed 90% of her grades to be the highest possible, A*, to even be a worthy applicant for medicine. That meant that nine out of ten of the subjects she did had to be A*. This worried her, despite her apparent intelligence, because of her mortal enemies, Physics and French. She hated those subjects with a passion.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were on the train back home. Both of them lived in the same neighbourhood while the rest lived somewhat near to the mall. "Sasuke is doing great you know," stated Naruto. He had returned to Konoha after visiting Sasuke at Otogakure Academy a few days ago. He glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eyes. She looked ahead and continued walking along the train to find them seats.

"He's still topping his class."

"He's captain of the basketball team now."

Still no answer from Sakura.

"I was surprised when you didn't ask about him when I returned from Oto," Naruto let out with a heavy sigh. All Sakura said was "Mmm", while staring out the window at the scenery passing by them.

"Since I was there for a week this time I got to meet his … friends." he continued. Still, she showed no sign of wanting to listen.

"I'm going to continue talking because I know you're listening Sakura-chan." Sakura's gaze didn't even falter once from the highly _fascinating_ scenery outside. But now she was thinking… remembering what Naruto had said about Sasuke the last time he visited him. That was before 10th Grade started.

 _"He stays in the boarding school."_

 _"He still plays basketball."_

 _"He…. Asked about you."_

 _"What did you tell him?"_

 _"That you moved on."_

 _"And?"_

 _"That you wanted to be a doctor."_

 _"And?"_

 _"That's it..."_

 _"Hn."_

 _"You know he keeps a photo of you and me in his wallet?"_

 _Sakura glared at him._

 _"Okay fine. But I'm SURE he does. I just didn't get the opportunity to snoop dattebayo!"_

"Sakura-chan!" She snapped out of her daydream and coughed, "What?!"

"Come on Sakura-chan! You got to listen to this! He stays in this apartment like thing on campus and two other guys live with him- Juugo and Suigetsu I think." he nodded in approval of his memory. "They're pretty cool. Sasuke always seem annoyed when this chick comes over though. I don't even remember her name… Karen? No! KARIN! YEAH! That's her name dattebayo! She has the weirdest hair I've ever seen. It's fiery red like a tomato! I don't think Sasuke really likes her though. He always went to another room when she was around."

Naruto got off the train one stop before Sakura did. Only one thing continued processing in her mind after he left.

 _"It's fiery red like a tomato!"_

 _"Fiery red….. tomato."_

 _"Tomato."_

Sasuke's favourite food was tomatoes.

Had Sasuke had his first kiss? Was he even a virgin? It had been two years after all… He was now sixteen.

When she got off the train, she couldn't help staring at the multi-storeyed apartment complex that was directly in front of the station. She peered at the third floor window, coincidently at the same level as the train platform so she could almost directly see into the room, which showed absolutely no sign of inhabitancy. Two years ago, Sasuke used to live there, alone, after Itachi left for college. Almost always, when Sakura looked at that window, she would see Sasuke seated at his desk, pouring over a textbook or peering at a laptop screen. He was always studying.

She may have succeeded in fooling EVERYONE that she didn't care about Sasuke, even herself for a while, just so she could concentrate on her studies. But she couldn't fool herself forever.

* * *

 _She stared down at the acceptance letter in front of her. Sasuke had been accepted into the prestigious Otogakure Academy!_

 _'Dear Uchiha Sasuke,_

 _Congratulations. You have been accepted into Otog….'_

 _Sakura stopped reading. She rummaged through the bedside table and found a ticket to Otogakure for 28th June at 6 p.m. She hastily glanced at the digital clock atop the table and noted that it was 25th June._

 _"OMFG! What is fuck happening? Why has he applied to a school in friggin Oto?!" She frantically thought to herself as left his house and rushed home._

 _3 days later, at 5.50pm, she found herself on the train platform facing Sasuke. She caught him as he was getting on the train. His hand clasped around a navy blue suitcase, he glared at Sakura. "What are you doing here?"_

 _"Why are you going to Oto, Sasuke-kun?" she mumbled, holding back tears. Her hands were already shaking._

 _"This is none of your concern Sakura. Go back home." He bitingly stated as he turned around and walked away._

 _"Why don't you ever tell me anything? Does Naruto know about this? Does he know you're leaving us? You could've at least…" Sasuke cut her off in the middle, "You really are annoying."_

 _"STOP Sasuke. Please. Please don't go. I love you so much!" She yelled at him, but he continued walking away, ignoring the looks bystanders were giving them. She ran closer to him._

 _"I'll send in an application to Oto High! I'll come with you!"_

 _Sasuke turned around and glared at her. "You will NOT do that. You will stay HERE. This is where you belong. Do you understand?"_

 _The train started moving slowly._

 _"Why? What will I do here if you're not here? Nothing matters if..." Sasuke cut her off and moved appallingly close to her, "Otogakure is not a place for a girl like you Sakura," he murmured into her ear._

 _The train picked up speed._

 _"Whaaa"_

 _And with that Sasuke let go of his suitcase and hugged her, whispering "thank you" before climbing quickly onto the train before it left the station._

* * *

"SASUKEEE-KUNNN!" yelled Sakura as she woke up from her dream. Outside, thunder roared and the rain beat down on her window heavily.

Sakura turned on her side and sighed, she definitely couldn't forget him


	2. New School

Chapter 2: New School

 **AN:** I guess I'm still setting the scene for the story so bear with me.

Konoha was immensely different compared to Suna. It was humid and hot, possibly the worst combination for Temari's frizzy hair. Suna was just arid. Albeit that it wasn't really the ideal conditions for anyone's hair. "If I'm going to live here for the next two years, I may have to change my hairstyle," thought Temari silently.

"Holy shit," mumbled Kankurou. Temari stared at the gates of Konoha International Academy. Back home, the school the three of them went to was relatively huge. Relative to the schools in Suna of course. KIA looked colossal in comparison to that. At the entrance, KONOHA INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY was written in big, blue embellished letters, with a 'This is a NO smoking campus' sign below it. To the far right of gate was a huge football field in the middle of a running track. Spectator stands coloured red, blue, green and yellow were behind the track. Behind those were four diversely coloured buildings, similar to the spectator stands that looked suspiciously like a modern apartment complex, but the siblings recognised them as the boarding houses from the school brochures.

The security guard pointed to a door a little way off which said "General Office". Temari started towards it with Kankurou and Gaara following in suit. Over there, an overly cheerful receptionist who looked around their age greeted them, "Good Morning! How may I help you?" Temari inwardly cringed but put on a smile and glanced at her name-tag. "Hi… Miss Arya. We're new. We need the keys to our room?"

"Oh yes! Could I just see your application form?"

Gaara, ever ready, took out three folders from his backpack and handed it to Arya without a word.

"Temari….… Gaara...Kankurou… Oh! The three of you are the new students from Suna! Welcome to Konoha! We've put you three in apartment-style housing. So each of you will have your own room and there'll be a common living room and a washroom. If there's any issue then just tell one of your house supervisors." She handed Temari the keys and continued, "Your house supervisors are… Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai! If you have any problem just approach them yeah?" She repeated. "Thank you very much," Gaara nodded. "Just hang on for a minute I'll get someone to show you to your apartment." Arya stated and was about to enter a room that said "FOR STAFF", but Temari interrupted her, "It's okay. The boarding houses are behind the football field right? We'll find our way there."

"Okay! I'll just inform Asuma-san and Kurenai-san that you guys are coming. Just make sure you find the yellow building labelled '2'."

"That would be great, thanks so much for your help," Temari said as started rolling her suitcase. "See you around?" said Kankurou.

"Nope!" Arya said pleasantly.

* * *

Their father was a wealthy businessman, who enjoyed the privileges of owning a highly successful oil extraction company. As a result, he often travelled the world, Konoha being one of his most frequented locations. He wanted his children to have the best education they could possibly have; travelling around the world showed him that admission to tertiary institutes was highly competitive, and already-developed nations like the Fire and Lightning countries had well-established and world-renowned education systems and secondary schools. The Wind Country, which had only recently become politically stable, and was still developing. How developed could a country's education system be if they had only recently become politically stable?

 _"Once you finish 10th Grade, I'll be sending you three to a high school in Konoha," stated Rasa during dinner one day._

 _"Why?" questioned Temari immediately. She didn't mind shifting, but she had grown up in Suna after all._

 _"The Konoha International Academy is well-known throughout the world. It has a challenging program that will help you three get into good universities," Rasa stated, quite logically. "The universities in the Wind country aren't that good Temari." Gaara nodded in agreement._

All three siblings had grown to treasure education. The Wind Country did not really have any internationally acknowledged high school programs. As a result, students who graduated 12th Grade from Wind country high schools only went on to study in one of the three universities located in the country. The government was more focused on rebuilding the nation; housing, reducing poverty and establishing international relations.

Despite the wonderful opportunity the three of them were receiving, Temari couldn't help but be slightly weary about the next two years. Gaara wasn't exactly the best at social interaction and Kankurou was _too_ good at it. On top of that, Kankurou didn't really know what he wanted to do in the future.

The three of them passed by a bunch of students playing on the football field. "Did one of them just say dattebayo?" Kankurou asked Gaara incredulously. Gaara pondered over it for a moment and nodded, affirmatively with an "Interesting," thrown in.

"Forget that guys, did you see the pink hair on one of the girls? Do you think it's natural?" said Temari.

"Lol who knows. Looks like this school is full of weirdos." retorted Kankurou. Temari and Gaara nodded in agreement, disregarding Temari's strange four ponytail hairstyle and Gaara's red hair and matching forehead tattoo.

"Hey Kankurou! Are you going to walk around with your face paint in this school as well?" mocked Temari.

"Goddamit Temari! It was for my theatre class!" growled Kankurou while Temari squealed with laughter. "Sure Kanky, sure."

They stopped in front of the building labelled '2' and stared at the entrance. It looked more like a hotel than a boarding house for teenagers. There was a huge front desk with three receptionists. Behind them, on multiple display cabinets were trophies of different shapes, sizes and colours. Above the desk was a gold chandelier that sparkled.

For the second time that day, Kankurou couldn't help himself. "Holy shit." Temari and Gaara nodded in unison. They couldn't believe it. This was crazy compared to Suna.

"Well let's go." Temari said and stepped close to the transparent entrance to find that they couldn't get in because a building card was needed. "Lovely. How secure." she muttered. "I guess that's why Arya said she'll tell the house supervisors that we're coming."

As if on cue, a woman who looked to be in her early thirties appeared on the other side of the door. She tapped her card and the doors opened.

"You must be Temari, Gaara and Kankurou," she nodded to each of them respectively. "I'm Kurenai Yuuhi and I'll be one of your house supervisors. I'm also going to be your English teacher. And your Psychology teacher if you take it. Welcome to Konoha International Academy!"

"Thank you Yuuhi-san." said Gaara politely.

"Oh there's no need for such formalities dear. Over here the students call the teachers by their first name. So Kurenai-sensei or Kurenai-san is alright," she stated while gesturing them towards a room which said "SUPERVISORS". Inside was a man, around the same age as Kurenai, stroking his beard as if he was thinking deeply.

"Asuma. Will you stop playing shogi with Shikamaru for one moment and meet our new students!" Kurenai sweetly stated with accusatory connotations.

"Doesn't matter anyway Kurenai-sensei, because checkmate." said a boy who looked extremely bored. "That's the 264th time I've beaten you Asuma."

Temari's lifted her eyebrow. This kid referred to his house supervisor by only his name? 264 times? Was the kid a smartass or was his teacher just incompetent? Asuma laughed nervously, as if he was embarrassed and got up to shake their hands. "I'm Asuma. And that's Shikamaru," he said motioning towards him.

Shikamaru limply raised his hand in what one would assume was an attempt to gesture 'hi'. His eyes passed over the three siblings and lingered over Temari for a second longer than her brothers. The only thing he said was "Interesting hairstyle," before placing the shogi pieces in their correct starting position.

The comment wasn't derogatory or mocking, but it made the back of Temari's neck burn. "Speak for yourself," she said with a huff. Shikamaru didn't retaliate, but he smirked. She suddenly felt quite self-conscious. "Ignore him Temari. Let's go to your apartment," said Kurenai soothingly.

* * *

He continued thinking about her.

Her hair wasn't blonde, instead it looked dry and yellow. The girls in Konoha mainly had flowing, glossy locks of various colours. Her teal eyes had a hint of a twinkle but there was also exhaustion hidden in them. Her nose was pointed and sharp and she walked with this regal type of grace which wasn't really graceful. It was more like she was always at attention, observing and calculating. And the way she stared at him? Bluntly, without a care in the world if her opinion showed on her face. What about that strange hairstyle? Maybe it was a thing where she came from. She definitely looked more mature. He was intrigued as if she was a rare species of flower which could only be found in certain places, which struggled to survive. Like the _middlemist camellia_ , a flower so rare that it's only found in two places in the world.

Yet Shikamaru felt this adrenaline rush. He could've cognitively interpreted it as excitement, but instead he decided to go with his sense of foreboding, as if he was preparing for some sort of upcoming battle. For some reason he thought there was something more to the yellow-haired creature; and this translated to concern for his usually lazy disposition.

* * *

The 3rd floor apartment was huge. It was twice as big as their apartment in Suna.

Each of them had their own room. Back in Suna they all shared one room, despite having enough money to buy a bigger house. They never saw the need to do so.

All of them sat down and Asuma began, "So we have some things we need to give you." Kurenai handed them a bag which had some books in it. He continued, "There are three school diaries in there with your timetables attached. I'm your homeroom teacher by the way."

"Most 11th and 12th graders stay on campus because of the long school hours. Some of the local students have already shifted in, like the boy you met downstairs. Since you three are living in this building, you're in the yellow house. Hence the reason Kurenai and I are your 'House Supervisors'."

"You have to go to the school bookshop on the first day of school to collect your books. There are two days till school starts so make yourself at home. Asuma and my phone numbers are on the whiteboard next to the kitchen door. If ANYTHING happens at any time of the day or night, just call one of us. There's a supermarket and a bookshop in every building." Kurenai reassured while smiling. "All these details are in the maps that are there in your school diary. Oh! Our numbers are in your school diary as well."

"We've assigned 'buddies' to each of you who'll be in the same homeroom as you. They'll come pick you up at 8.30 a.m. on Monday, around 45 minutes before classes start. But since it'll be the first day, there will be assemblies and talks so there probably won't be any classes…." Asuma contemplated. "Umm… What time do we go down for breakfast?" asked Kankurou.

"The buffet starts at 6 a.m. and continues till 8.30 a.m. Everyone eats lunch in the school canteen from 12.30 to 1.30. The canteen usually continues selling food till 5.30 really, because so many students have extra classes. Dinner is served in your house halls from 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. And if you get hungry at a time when food is not being served you could always use the pantry." said Kurenai.

"Pantry?" asked Temari.

"There's a pantry at the end of every level which has the basics. Food that doesn't spoil fast. Like soups and noodles. You can by vegetables and meat from the supermarket downstairs if needed and store it in your mini fridge."

"That's all we have to tell you. Right?" Kurenai asked Asuma, who smirked and said "I know Temari and Kankurou are legal but Gaara isn't. So no drinking for Gaara and definitely no drinking on campus."

Kankurou sighed.

"Well if you guys don't have any more questions we'll leave you to unpack."

"Thank you very much Kurenai-san, Asuma-san." Gaara said respectfully. Temari and Kankurou got up and nodded.

After they left the apartment, Temari and Kankurou immediately pointed to the same room and said "DIBS!" and proceeded to fight while Gaara quietly entered the room facing the football field. He looked out of the window and stared down at the semblance of a football game going on. Right now the blonde haired boy who screamed "Dattebayo" before was doing what looked like a 'victory dance' with his shirt off. Evidently he had scored a goal.

 **AN:** More character interaction in the next chapter :)


	3. Return

Chapter 3: Return

AN: Thank you so much to **smile-lifegoeson** for reviewing and saying that there was something wrong with this chapter! It would've been left here if you didn't say anything! Thank you for the favourites and follows! :D

* * *

Indie pop blasted into her ears as she exited the lift with a folder in her right hand. It was Sunday, the day before school started. She knocked on the door that said "SUPERVISORS" and entered, only to find Shikamaru sitting on the floor near the coffee table with a shogi board in front of him. He didn't even looked up when she entered. She raised an eyebrow, "Are you playing against yourself?" He nodded lethargically.

"Is Asuma-sensei or Kurenai-sensei here?"

"Nope," Shikamaru said curtly, while moving a shogi piece.

"Could you give this to one of them when they come in? It has a few forms." asked Temari.

"Hmmmm.."

Temari was getting annoyed. So she bent down and picked up a knight and moved it strategically until the opposing king was checkmated. Shikamaru stared at her.

"Could you give this to one of them when they come in? It has a few forms." Temari repeated.

"Sure," he replied and took the file from her, "Do you play?"

"Evidentially. See you," she muttered as she left hurriedly.

Shikamaru glanced down at the transparent file in his hand. The first thing that caught his eye was the first line.

 _First Name: Temari Last Name: - Age: 19 DOB: 23/09/94 Grade: 11_

"What's a nineteen year old girl doing in Grade 11?" Shikamaru thought to himself. He made a mental note to ask Asuma about it later.

* * *

Temari woke up with a scowl.

She hated mornings.

She really did. Unless there was something urgent.

Correction. She hated _early_ mornings. It was 7 a.m. The sun wasn't even up in Konoha at 7! In Suna waking up at 7 was much easier because of the blazing hot sun.

She stopped the alarm on her phone and got off her bed. She grabbed her uniform and entered the living room, where Gaara was already sitting sipping coffee and watching the news. "Morning," he called out as she went to the washroom. "Mmmm," was all she got out before closing the door. She hated speaking before brushing her teeth.

* * *

After a hot shower, she put on her uniform which consisted of a grey pleated skirt which was three inches above the knee and a white button down shirt that had to be tucked into her skirt. Every student also received a white and grey tie and a grey formal jacket that no one really wore unless it was winter. August meant it was autumn, so the weather was just right. After tying her hair in one high ponytail, she emerged from the washroom. Seeing that it was 7.30 a.m. and Kankurou was still snoring to glory, she decided to unleash her wrath on him. She slammed his room door open and drew his curtains, allowing the God awful light to fall on his eyes. They twitched and she knew he was awake. She smirked and said "Kanky if you don't wake up I'm going to mess with your purple face paint." Kankurou groaned and mumbled something unintelligible like "You wouldn't dare." Temari's grin grew wider. "Are you sure Kanky? Because Derivan Face and Body Paint, non-toxic, water based, fluro purple…" "OKAY fine Tem. You're holding my face paint. I'm up. Friggin bi-"

"What was that Kanky?" Temari asked sweetly.

"Nothing."

"Good. Now go get changed. Our buddies will be here in 25 minutes."

"Damnit."

* * *

Temari didn't really know what was needed on her first day. She put her laptop, a notebook and a pencil case into her purple and white backpack. As always, Gaara was already ready. He had probably packed his bag yesterday night. Kankurou, on the other hand, was still in the washroom. It was 7.50 am.

Temari sighed. She entered Kankurou's room and put his laptop and other essentials into his backpack and kept it on his table. What would he do without her?

* * *

"GUYS WHERE IS MY LAPTOP?!" yelled Kankurou from his room at 7.59 am.

"Check your backpack on your table Kanky."

"THANKS TEM!"

"Heh."

* * *

The doorbell rang at exactly 8 a.m. Whoever these people were, they were definitely uber-time conscious people. Temari opened the door and was met with the large, glowing smile of a tall, blonde girl and a brown haired boy.

"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino! And this is Inuzuka Kiba! You must be Temari!" she said shrilly. All Temari could do was nod before they entered.

Ino gasped and exclaimed "You must be Gaara! I love your tattoo!" Gaara just stood there and stared at her. Kankurou entered the living room and nodded approvingly while glancing at Ino. Kiba started, "Kankurou, man, I'm Kiba. I'll be your buddy." Kankurou nodded and shook his hand.

"And I'm your buddy Temari!" Ino cried. Temari nodded.

"Ummm…" started Gaara.

"Oh don't worry Gaara! Your buddy will be here in just a minute. He probably stopped by the pantry for some ramen."

Speaking of the devil, Naruto appeared with a backpack slung over his left shoulder and a packet of instant ramen in his hand. He made a direct beeline for Gaara and gave him a hug, surprising Gaara. "GAARA! I'LL BE YOUR BUDDY DATTEBAYO!"

"NARUTO! Sound decibels you idiot!" screamed Ino.

Temari winced and wished she could tell Ino how ironic that was.

* * *

"So can I see your timetable?" Ino asked Temari. "Yeah, sure," she replied, taking out her diary to give to her. They were on the way down to breakfast. "Do you guys also stay in this building?" Kankurou asked.

"Yup!" said Naruto and Kiba in unison.

Suddenly, Ino squealed. "Temari! Both of us take Chemistry, English and Further Math! But your subject combination is more common with Shikamaru I think…. Yeah. And you're taking two extra subjects? What the hell man." Temari simply nodded. Shikamaru? That would be amusing.

Ino put her bag on a table with at least five other people. Kiba and Naruto followed in suit. Ino took the liberty to introduce the siblings. "Guys, this is Temari, Kankurou and Gaara. We'll be their buddies for some time. Introduce yourselves?" Ino said as she pointed to a girl with pink hair. She smiled sweetly and said "I'm Sakura! That's Hinata, Sai, Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru." Everyone nodded when their name was said and smiled, except for Shikamaru who was obviously immersed in a nap. Sakura kicked him under the table and he woke up with a start and stared at Temari.

"What happened to your hair?" he mumbled.

"I decided to tie it differently," Temari remarked. "I can see that," replied Shikamaru.

"Ummm… Do you guys know each other?" asked Sakura curiously.

"No." They both said in unison. Sakura and Ino glanced at each other with a gleam in their eyes. Then they both smiled as if a secret agreement had transpired between them.

* * *

There was an announcement over the PA system by the principal. "Kakashi stop reading that in sch- Oh we're on. Good morning students! Please proceed to the auditorium at 9.15 for an assembly. That will be all. Kaka-"

None of the students seemed phased by the strange nature of that announcement, implying that it was a usual occurrence.

"This school is so…. different. In my previous school all the students were really scared of their teachers and we had to bow to them every time they passed by, especially the principal," Temari said between bites. Those in immediate hearing range laughed. "This school is very chill. The teachers are really cool," said Ino.

"Hmmm… In my old school we weren't allowed to sit wherever we wanted during lunch. We had to sit where we were allocated at the beginning of the school year. I didn't like that at all…" mumbled Temari almost incoherently. Ino and Sakura looked positively mortified at that thought. "Was discipline really strict in your school Temari-san?" asked Sai politely. She nodded. "I also once went to a school like that. A long time ago," replied Sai.

"Are you guys from Suna?" this time it was Shikamaru who spoke up, for once. Temari was too shocked to reply. "How did you guess?" asked Gaara. "Her features are incredibly Sunese," he stated simply. Temari stared at him. That meant he was observing her.

* * *

"So guys this is the auditorium. It wasn't air-conditioned three years back but thankfully they installed air conditioners and better heaters throughout the school," Ino was giving them the grand tour which ended at the auditorium. "All of us are in the same homeroom class," Kiba said, "But we all take different subjects. So we don't really see each other around."

"THAT'S WHY WE EAT BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER TOGETHER DATTEBAYO!" exclaimed Naruto.

Suddenly, over the mic, a silver haired man with a mask covering half his face, announced "…. Naruto please keep your voice down. Students please line up according to your homerooms. Oh and new students, please come to the back of the stage."

Temari, Kankurou and Gaara proceeded to the back of the stage, but not before watching the crazy antics of the disciplinary master, Maito Gai.

"Greetings my lovely students! Tis' be the start of the New Year for your youthful souls! Go forth and do us proud! To anyone who hasn't been assigned to a house yet, please come and meet me after the assembly! Your youthful and magnificent Gai-sensei!"

At the end of this 'announcement' someone yelled Gai-sensei and started clapping.

Temari swore she heard the entire student body sigh.

* * *

"So welcome to the school year once again. Before I begin the assembly, let me introduce the new students," said Tsunade.

"In the 7th Grade…" Finally it reached 11th Grade.

"Temari, Gaara and Kankurou from Suna will be joining 11th Grade." They stood on the stage for a few seconds before walking down and towards Ino and Sakura, who were at the front of their homeroom line.

"Before I move on to the next segment of the assembly, there's one student I have to… Reintroduce." With unforgiving jet-black eyes and bangs covering most of his forehead, he stepped onto the stage. "Uchiha Sasuke will be re-joining 11th Grade after spending two years at Otogakure Academy." The silence in the auditorium was deafening. Students looked from Sasuke to Sakura, and almost everyone noticed that Sasuke was staring intensely at Sakura, whose ashen face showed no sign of any emotion except anger. "That fucking bastard!" swore Naruto loudly under his breath.

"What's he doing here?!" Ino asked no one in particular, she couldn't control her surprise. Everyone around her was thinking the same thing. Sakura's fist clenched up and she let out a sigh of frustration. She stared right back at Sasuke, despite his penetrating stare. She was _not_ the same damsel-in-distress-lovesick girl she was two years ago.

"He will be in Sarutobi Asuma's homeroom." With that, Sasuke nodded at Kakashi, who was standing at the side of the stage, and walked down from the stage to the back of the line, where Shino was standing. No words were exchanged between them. Throughout the assembly, multiple students and teachers glanced at Sasuke and Sakura, but both of them simply looked forward. Sakura listened numbly to what Tsunade was saying while Sasuke continued staring intensely at her pink hair.

"Everyone except Grade 11 is dismissed," Tsunade ordered after the school anthem was played. The respective students got up and left the auditorium.

Sakura, snapping back to herself, grabbed Naruto by the hair and pulled him across the auditorium and pushed him against a wall. She put her left arm against his neck and angrily yelled, "Did you know he was coming back?" "No! Sakura-chan I swear I didn't know!" Sakura's pressed harder. "Believe me dattebayo!"

Students stared at them while they exited the auditorium, but no one said anything. "What the hell is happening?" asked Kankurou. "Drama. That's what is happening," replied Kiba while watching the scene unfold.

"Shouldn't we stop her?" Gaara enquired. "Nah. This is something those three need to figure out for themselves. But I wouldn't mind kicking Sasuke's pretty boy ass," Ino responded.

"What happened between Naruto, pretty boy and Sakura?" Temari questioned. "Even we don't know that," Shikamaru replied.

Meanwhile, Naruto was still screaming for Sakura to believe he didn't know about Sasuke's 'homecoming' when the devil himself spoke. "Sakura. He didn't know." That was all that took for her to let go of Naruto. She turned around and glared at Sasuke. She was surprised at their close proximity; she could see the dark circles under his unfaltering eyes. For two years, Sakura envisioned this moment to be completely different, she had even thought about what she would say to him. But she never thought she would have the guts to do what happened next.

Everyone heard the sound of the slap. Sasuke himself winced as her palm hit his right cheek, immediately turning red. She walked away, but not before she said, "Stay the hell away from me Sasuke."


	4. The Curse

Chapter 4: The Curse

 _It was headline news._

 _The Uchiha's were quite well-known after all._

 _Sakura was shocked, startled beyond belief. She didn't fathom that something so …. Excruciatingly horrendous could happen to one of her classmates._

 _She had known Sasuke for two years._

* * *

 _"Sakura honey, go and give this to Sasuke and Itachi," said Sakura's mother, while handing her a box filled with homemade rice balls._

 _Sakura nodded and started towards the Uchiha residence, now home to only Itachi and Sasuke._

 _She was distraught. She hadn't seen Sasuke for two days. He hadn't been coming to school. Everyone was talking about the plane crash, the unfortunate fate of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's parents who were on a business trip. Even the teachers were talking about what would happen to the poor boys, only eight and thirteen years old._

 _As Sakura reached the apartment, she could hear the rattling of a passing by train. To her surprise the front door was open. She rang the doorbell out of courtesy, but couldn't help herself as she looked into the living room. There were dozens of packing boxes lying around._

 _Itachi appeared, looking weary and oh-so-tired with heavy dark circles beneath his eyes. "Sakura-chan, please come in."_

 _"Thank you Itachi-san…" she awkwardly handed him the box._

 _"Oh Sakura-san, thank you so much for the onigiri. This is Sasuke's favourite." Sakura nodded. Itachi was always excessively polite. Even though she was only eight, Sakura could sense the weariness and exhaustion in Itachi's tone._

 _"We're shifting to the orphanage at the end of the street. I'm not old enough to be Sasuke's guardian…. At least Naruto-kun will be there. Sasuke's packing up his room. Why don't you give this to him yourself, I'm sure he'll be happy." With that, Itachi directed Sakura to his room and knocked on the door._

 _"Sasuke, there's someone here to see you. We're coming in."_

 _Sasuke was sitting on the hardwood floor, holding on to his dinosaur plushie and staring out the window at the trains passing by. He didn't turn around when Itachi and Sakura entered._

 _Itachi went and sat in front of Sasuke and tapped his forehead. "Sasuke, maybe Sakura-san can help you pack your things up," he said, looking up at Sakura. She nodded vigorously and sat down beside Itachi._

 _She stared at Sasuke's grief-stricken face, his usual joyful expression had been replaced by sagging, lost eyes, as if he hadn't slept in the longest time._

 _Sakura remembered the box in her hands and gently placed it on Sasuke's lap. "Sasuke-kun, I brought you some rice balls. They're your favourite flavour," she said softly. Sasuke didn't react. Itachi sighed and got up, throwing an apologetic glance at Sakura. But she understood; he had to continue packing._

 _"Sasuke-kun… I could heat up some of the rice-balls if you wanted me too…" No reply. Sakura sighed._

 _"Sasuke-kun, I'm going to start packing your things." She stood up and looked around his room. Her eyes landed on his prized book collection, with classic literature and textbooks._

 _Sakura felt a pang in her heart, and hatred in her soul because how could someone so innocent, so naïve, so young, have people **so precious** taken away from him? Why did he have to suffer at such a young age?_

 _It was called the Uchiha Curse._

 _Sasuke's uncle also died in a plane crash. His other uncle was killed in a fatal car crash. His aunt committed suicide after two years of suffering from depression. The Uchiha curse was used to describe the series of unfortunate and tragic events that plagued the family. Sasuke had been sheltered from this by his parents, but without them to protect him from the relentless media, he couldn't stop himself from listening to the news anchors on the television screen._

 _Suddenly, she felt a hand on her leg and a tiny voice whispering between sobs, "I…. don't want…. to leave." Sasuke burst into tears. She bent down and put her arms around Sasuke, who was trying to hold back his tears, which were just falling and falling. He laid his head on her shoulder and continued wailing, while she stroked his hair. She was only eight and couldn't do anything, but she vowed to be there for him._

* * *

Sakura couldn't help but remember that dreadful evening. She could never, ever forget the gut-wrenching sobs that Sasuke let out. That was eight years ago, and the cheerful Sasuke that once existed was now locked within the chasm of his heart. Sakura was once an important person to him, she knew that. Naruto told her that Sasuke confided that to him one late night, in the orphanage. But she had absolutely _no doubt,_ that right now, Sasuke lacked even a _semblance_ of platonic affection for her.

She stood beside Ino as Tsunade addressed the entire batch of 11th Grade students. She caught only bits and pieces of the lecture. It was only when Ino nudged her and said "Come on," did Sakura realize that Tsunade had dismissed them to homeroom. She couldn't get Sasuke out of her mind, and when she turned around to walk out of the auditorium, her line of sight locked with his glaring obsidian eyes. Her eyes shifted to the red bruise on his right cheek and she smirked.

Sakura was not a girl to be messed with.

* * *

Temari was very amused by the entire situation. Amused because not even _one day_ had passed, and there was already a considerable amount of drama. She wasn't the only one who was shocked at Sakura's reaction to Sasuke; Ino was going absolutely mad. "Holy frigging shit, did Sakura just slap Sasuke? Holy mother of God," Ino had exclaimed, or something along those lines. Temari didn't understand what the hell was happening between Sasuke and Sakura, but even she, being new, could sense the palpable tension between the both of them.

She couldn't help but notice the kind words that Ino and Hinata kept muttering to Sakura, although the pink-haired girl seemed to out of it to really comprehend what her friend was saying. The boys didn't seem too affected by what was happening. However Naruto, muttering colourful curses, stalked after Sasuke. Shikamaru seemed infinitely bored and not at all phased by the entire situation while Chouji stood beside him, munching on a bag of chips. Gaara hadn't followed behind his loud-mouthed buddy, and was instead listening to Kankurou numerous questions and Kiba's energetic answers on the history of the trio, as he loved to call it. It seemed as though Sasuke wasn't really friends with anyone besides Naruto, which made everything all the more interesting.

* * *

They were now in their homeroom. On Temari's right was Ino and on her left was Shikamaru. Sakura was seated beside Ino and was looking intently at the blank, newly polished white-board.

"So what happens now?" Temari asked Ino.

"Asuma-sensei will probably come in and-" She was cut off mid-sentence as she saw Sasuke stop at the threshold of the entrance to the classroom with Naruto screaming behind him, "Teme! How could you not tell me or Sakura-chan that- WHY THE HELL DID YOU RANDOMLY STOP?!" Everyone in the classroom stopped stalking as they noticed Sasuke scanning the room with his jet-black irises. Suddenly, he started pacing again, now towards the back of the classroom.

"Oi Teme! Can you tell me what's going on dattebayo!"

Sasuke didn't answer, but instead stopped behind Sakura and pulled out the chair beside her. Everyone was watching what would happen next, the memory of the slap still fresh in their minds.

"What does he think he's doing?" whispered Ino to no one in particular.

Sasuke promptly sat down beside Sakura.

"TEME DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT SAKURA-CHAN SAID TO YOU?!" Naruto yelled boisterously, his face turning redder and redder by the second. He was obviously concerned about her.

Sakura raised up her hand, as if to silence Naruto and tell him it's okay. "Sasuke, why are you sitting beside me?" she managed to get out.

"You're my buddy," came Sasuke's curt response, without even looking at her. He said buddy in a distasteful manner, as if he couldn't believe it either.

"WHY WOULD YOU NEED A BUDDY IF YOU'VE STUDIED HERE BEFORE?!" Naruto asked. Ino 'tsked' and glared at Naruto as if to say 'shut up'.

"Speak to Tsunade," was all Sasuke said before he turned away and started gazing out of the window.

"Perhaps it would be wise to refer to our principal as Tsunade-sama, grumpy," said a pale-skinned boy with a small smile on his face. Sasuke didn't recognise him. If he was insulted by the highly appropriate nickname, he didn't say anything.

"That's right Sasuke. Don't be such a bitch," said Ino. Temari was entertained by Ino's reactions to Sasuke. She was one of the few who didn't hide what they were thinking about Sasuke.

"Sasuke I would prefer if you didn't sit next to me. Naruto would you like to sit here instead?" Sakura didn't wait for an answer. She picked up her bag and went and sat beside the pale-skinned boy who had called Sasuke 'grumpy' before. Sasuke noticed how the boy placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder, without her objecting. What Sasuke failed to hear was the boy saying, "The book I'm reading says that a comforting hand on the shoulder of one who seems to be sad is appropriate as it portrays that you can, to quote the book, 'Count on me'." Sasuke did however see Sakura laughing as the boy said something.

* * *

Throughout the entire incident, Shikamaru had remained in his characteristic 'napping' position. After the tangible stiffness in the room lessened, and the chatter increased (Naruto was the loudest, still trying to pry information out of Sasuke, with Ino now interjecting at certain points), Shikamaru lifted his head up and said, "This year is going to be troublesome." Chouji nodded in agreement and continued eating his chips while Temari asked, "Why?"

Shikamaru sighed and said, "Sasuke is back. Sakura is pissed off. Naruto is still loud. No one really knows why Sasuke left. Those three used to be almost inseparable."

"Really?! Those three?" exclaimed Temari. How could three people who seemed so utterly different be friends?

"Yeah. I heard they've been through a lot together. At least Naruto and Sasuke have. No idea about Sakura though," Shikamaru continued.

"Sakura used to have the biggest crush on Sasuke," Chouji contributed. Temari nodded, as if she had already guessed as much.

"But about a month after Sasuke suddenly left, Sakura stopped talking about him. Almost as if she was over him completely. She started topping the class in almost all subjects," stated Shikamaru. Temari was surprised at how much the lazy-ass was speaking but didn't stop him.

"You could've topped the class if you tried studying," Chouji accused while looking at Shikamaru, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, is she still over him?" Temari asked. Chouji didn't seem bothered by the question. But Shikamaru's expression said otherwise, "You tell me," he muttered.

Temari wasn't sure what to think then but judging by what he said, she was pretty sure there was more to Sakura under her cherry, bubbly disposition.

* * *

It was August 13th.

There was an hour left till their results were released.

The panic in the air was stifling. Two girls and a boy had already burst into tears, Hinata being one of them.

Temari knew she was a good student, and her teachers back in Suna were sure her performance would be splendid. But she couldn't help but tap her feet in anticipation of one flimsy piece of paper printed with her results. Shikamaru seemed as apathetic as ever. Temari was so frustrated with his personality. Nothing bothered him! Nothing at all! Not even 10th grade results which was a significant part of college applications. The day before he told her, "There's not going to be any surprises." Temari was puzzled by this statement so prodded him further. "Take your average score in your school exams and just add or subtract five marks and you have your final score," he drawled indifferently. Temari scowled at him, "Pre-result jitters are normal. Look at Naruto! Even he seems a bit quieter than usual."

"Shikamaru is like this because he'll definitely get all A*s," Chouji said.

Shikamaru sighed and said, "It's not like that Chouji. I just told you what Asuma told me." Temari wasn't sure if someone like Shikamaru, who seemed insulted at the very idea of putting in effort into anything, could manage getting all A*s.

She was proven wrong an hour later.

* * *

Chouji was right. Shikamaru had secured an A* in all of his subjects. No one seemed surprised except Temari.

"How?!" she exclaimed when Shikamaru showed her his certificate. For the first time since she joined, she saw Shikamaru grin. "Good luck for your results," he said before walking away. There were still three people in front of her to get their results before Temari entered the principal's office.

* * *

Sakura was freaking out.

From the bottom of her heart, she wanted to be a doctor. She knew that admission to medical school was competitive. She also knew that Physics and French were her Achilles heel. She was worried she wouldn't have enough A*s to be a worthy candidate. Yes, getting so distressed over two subjects was utterly idiotic, but she knew that many many many applicants had straight A*s.

Sakura entered the office wearily and came face-to-face with Tsunade, Kakashi and Asuma. All three of them were widely smiling at her.

Tsunade pulled out her certificate from the bunch lying on her desk and gave it to Sakura while saying, "This is excellent." Sakura didn't process anything after that because she immediately burst into tears when she saw A*s beside every subject.

All three adults started laughing. "How stressed were you?" Kakashi asked her with a smile evident through his mask. Sakura couldn't bring herself to stop crying. She tried answering but there were no words forming in her mouth. She was so relieved and overwhelmed with happiness. On top of that, she was incredibly embarrassed for crying in front of her principal, vice-principal and homeroom teacher. She tried to say "thank you," but couldn't, so she bowed hastily and ran out of the office.

Ino took one look at her and gave her a tight hug, "It'll be okay Sakura. It's fine." Sakura tried to tell her that she was crying happy tears, but she still couldn't speak so she pried herself out of Ino's arms and showed her the certificate. Ino squealed and gave her a tight hug. Through her tears, she could hazily make out Sasuke smirking at her.

"SAKURA-CHAN DON'T CRY!" yelled Naruto before Ino hit him on the head and brought his attention to her certificate. "HOLY SHIT SAKURA-CHAN YOU'RE GOING TO MED SCHOOL!" he yelled elatedly. "SHANNARO!" inner Sakura yelled, because outer Sakura was too busy bawling her eyes out on Ino's shoulder.

* * *

The next day, Tsunade called up ten students on stage. All of them scored straight A*s. Among them were Shikamaru, Sai, Shino, Sakura, Gaara, Temari and Sasuke.

Sasuke hadn't expected Sakura to be on stage with him.

Before he left, Sakura barely scrapped through half the subjects she took. He always had to help her. Evidently, a lot had changed in the past two years.

* * *

AN: Please review with constructive critique :)


	5. Drugs

**AN:** Thank you for the reviews and follows! I hope you like this chapter :) I guess this is where the story really starts.

Chapter 5: Drugs 

Never in his wildest dreams did Sasuke think Sakura could get into medicine school. He couldn't believe that she scored straight A*s. Sasuke remembered Sakura as feeble and vulnerable; a fan-girl who jumped at every opportunity to spend time with him. She was _annoying_ and didn't understand anything about him.

She was also the only person who'd seen him cry. He detested that.

Yet Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what the _hell_ had changed in the past two years. It was like Sakura's attitude had taken a three hundred and sixty degree turn. She didn't follow him around, in fact she tried to stay as far away from him as she could. She didn't bug him about homework or questions she couldn't answer and she _definitely_ didn't blush or shy away when he looked at her. He was growing accustomed to her 'death stare', as dubbed by Naruto.

The familiar of the school bell sounded, signalling the beginning of lunch. Sasuke headed out the classroom to his locker. Students streamed out of the classrooms, heading towards to canteen. A few metres away, he saw a bob of shocking pink hair. Sakura was talking animatedly to Ino and Sai while putting too many books into her locker. Her hand slipped and a particularly thick textbook slid out of her grasp, but Sai caught it. She gave him a blinding smile, placing the textbook into her locker. The three of them headed to the canteen, Sakura completely oblivious to the obsidian orbs staring at her.

"After you left, Sai joined. He's a good kid, became pretty close to Naruto and Sakura," said Kakashi, who had been standing at a distance from Sasuke, watching his ex-student with fascination and amusement. Sasuke let out a "tch" and opened his locker.

"I'm the one who requested Tsunade-sama to make Sakura your buddy, although I can't say it's working out, ne?" Kakashi continued with a slight grin visible through his mask.

After a few moments Sasuke spoke, "I don't need a buddy."

"Well you _are_ a new student, technically speaking." Kakashi replied. He dug into his pocket and took out the latest addition to the Icha-Icha series.

Sasuke continued rummaging through his locker, searching for his tomato onigiri and a book to read, "Why Sakura."

Kakashi looked up from the book and stared at Sasuke, before letting out a chuckle. "I'm the one who requested Tsunade-sama for the arrangement, even though you both have few subjects in commom."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi and slammed his locker shut. "Why would you do that?" he asked furiously.

Kakashi didn't even blink. He closed the book and said, "We both know you hurt Naruto and Sakura when you left. You know how Naruto is, but you'll need to work hard to regain the friendship with Sakura." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but Kakashi cut him off, "Don't try to pretend you don't care about Sakura. You've known her for a long time Sasuke. And she was the only girl you didn't push away, despite her being _annoying_." Kakashi smirked at his imitation of Sasuke's 'catchphrase'.

"TEME! Kakashi-sensei!" yelled Naruto from the other side of the corridor. Both of them turned around and Kakashi raised his right hand in a greeting. "Think about it Sasuke. There are some bonds you can't break. And I'm sure you've noticed that she's moved on." He walked away, flipping through the pages of his orange book.

"What did Kakashi-sensei say teme?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing important." Sasuke replied.

"Then let's go get some lunch dattebayo! Today's the day they sell miso pork ramen!" Naruto yelled in glee. Sasuke let out a sigh and followed his blonde friend, knowing that he would be physically dragged along if he didn't follow.

* * *

Naruto manoeuvred through the crowd until he reached the table where Sakura and the rest were seated. He placed his tray down a little too hard, resulting in quite a lot of scalding hot miso soup landing on Sakura's fingers.

"Iteee! Naruto you friggin idiot!" she yelled in pain while grasping her fingers. Hinata took out a handkerchief from her pocket, which Sakura grabbed. She wiped the soup off while glaring at Naruto.

"It's the death stare." Naruto whispered to Sasuke, who continued reading the book in his hand with contrived interest. He was observing the situation from the corner of his eyes.

"Thank you Hinata. I'll wash this and give it back to you tomorrow." Sakura said while caressing her fingers.

Hinata shook her head and said "Um… There's no... Need for that….. I can," but got interrupted by Sai grabbing Sakura's fingers. He started blowing on them.

"Sai! What are you doing!" yelled Sakura while _almost_ turning red.

"The soup is hot. So wouldn't it make sense to blow on your fingers?" Sai stated in a practical tone, completely oblivious to the stares coming his way.

Naruto burst into hysterical giggles as Sakura moved her hand away. "That won't be necessary Sai!" and then she hastily added, "But thank you."

Sai looked up at Naruto and asked "Did I do something wrong?" which propelled Naruto into even more giggles.

"It's not acceptable in a social situation I guess?" said Ino after a while. "Yeah. It's a nice gesture, but something that couples would do I think," Sakura said with a grimace. "Maybe someone should take Ugly to the nurse," Sai suggested.

"I think I'll just go to the washroom," Sakura assured. She stood up and walked past Naruto, but was blocked by Sasuke.

"Move." Sakura growled, glaring at him.

"No," said Sasuke shortly. He grabbed her hand and raised it to his eyes, "There are blisters forming."

"I'll run cold water over it, now move." Sakura said indignantly. She tried to zone out what inner Sakura was saying. _"He's holding your hand Shannaro!"_ She refused to blush.

"I'm taking you to the nurse." Sasuke said, enclosing his hand around her tiny wrist. His vice like grip prevented her from escaping as he led her to the nurse's room.

Sakura couldn't help but notice that even though the walk was five minutes long, he didn't let go, despite the fact that she made it crystal clear that she wasn't going to run away.

* * *

The smell of disinfectant and cleanliness was overwhelming in the tiny little nurse's room. Sasuke had spent much time in it due to his numerous basketball injuries.

"It's a good thing you brought her here. This is a second degree burn," said the nurse praising Sasuke. He arrogantly smirked at Sakura, who looked away in defiance. _"Damn him!"_ she thought to herself.

"Now Sakura-chan, according to your clinical history," said the nurse while gesturing to the computer monitor beside her, "I notice that you've missed your last two meetings with Shizune-san." Sakura grimaced and said "I've just been busy with the new school year and -"

"No excuses aren't tolerated. If you miss another session with her you know that Tsunade-sama will come after you."

Sakura stared at the ground, nodding in embarrassment. That caught Sasuke's attention, but he continued flipping through the pages of his book, pretending to be immersed in it.

"I've scheduled your next meeting tomorrow at 10am. Shizune-san should be free since it's Saturday."

"I hope you're taking your medication regularly. You know very well that the fluoxetine prescription needs to be completed if not there'll be an imbalance," the nurse whispered, but Sasuke still caught fluoxetine. He had heard the word before, he just couldn't remember what it meant. He turned to look at Sakura who was nodding frantically. Her cheeks were a light shade of red and perspiration drops dotted the sides of her forehead, despite the air conditioner.

The nurse finished wrapping the bandage around Sakura's right hand and turned to Sasuke. "Make sure she changes her bandages every day and puts this antiseptic." She handed the bottle containing the strange, strong smelling purple coloured liquid to him and continued, "I'll inform Kurenai-san as well. And if the pain is too much she needs to have one of these tablets," The nurse gave Sasuke a bottle of blue painkillers. "Maximum three a day! And remember what I said." she said and ushered the two of them into the deserted hallway. Everyone was in the canteen.

Sakura bowed and said "Thank you."

Sakura tried to grab the medicines from Sasuke but he swiftly moved his arm away. Both of them were silent for a moment before Sasuke spoke calmly, "What's fluoxetine Sakura?" Sakura straightened up and looked away, refusing to answer him.

"Sakura." Sasuke said moving closer to her. Sakura was forced to move back. She still refused to answer.

"Damnit Sakura, tell me what fluoxetine is." Sasuke growled while moving even closer to her, causing her back to touch the wall. She was trapped and under Sasuke's penetrating gaze. He grabbed her wrist.

"It's none of your business." Sakura said, trying to control her pulsing heartbeat. She couldn't help but notice the heat radiating off him, he was so close to her.

Sasuke didn't give up. He moved even closer to Sakura, "What the hell are you do-" she let out in surprise. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to ask Kakashi." Sasuke whispered. Sakura turned ashen and her eyes widened.

"No." she said softly. Even with their close proximity Sasuke wasn't sure if he heard her say that.

"Why?" he asked, staring into her viridian eyes.

"No one knows goddamnit! Just leave it alone!" Sakura yelled, trying to wriggle out of Sasuke's grasp. He only tightened it.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me," he said without hesitation.

Sakura closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. At this distance Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why Sai called her 'ugly'. She had never been that particular adjective.

Sakura's lips parted and she let out a sigh. "Fluoxetine is the chemical name for Prozac, which is a medicine for clinical depression. The nurse uses chemical names with me because she knows I love to read up on medicines and drugs." Sasuke's eyes widened.

Sakura stared at him and continued, "No one knows about this except for Shizune-san, Tsunade-sama and Kurenai-sensei."

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask, "Naruto? Ino?"

"No. Not even them. Kakashi-sensei also doesn't know." Sasuke nodded.

"And I don't want them to know. I take a small dosage of fluoxetine every day since I have _mild_ depression. It's nothing to worry them about." Sakura finished.

Sasuke was silent but didn't move from his position. "When did it….. start?" he asked hesitating.

"Around two years ago." Sakura replied quickly. "Can I have my medication now?"

Sasuke nodded mutedly and allowed Sakura to take them from him. He stepped away from her and watched as she walked down the corridor, with less vigour than she usually did. She stopped at a corner and turned around, glancing at Sasuke. "Don't tell anyone." With that she disappeared around the corner, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

* * *

Once the school bell signalled the end of classes for the day, Sasuke grabbed his bag and rushed, _no – brisk walked –_ to his dorm room, ignoring the calls and messages from Naruto about playing basketball. For once basketball could wait. He pried open his laptop and searched up on 'causes of clinical depression'.

 _'Abuse. Past physical, sexual, or emotional abuse… Certain medications… Conflict. Biological vulnerability to develop depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends.'_ Sasuke frowned, he hadn't been in Konoha for two years, and it was possible that Sakura had a fight with a friend or family member, but it didn't make sense since she was still friends with everyone. Naruto hadn't mentioned anything wrong at home either- but he couldn't cross that off the possible causes.

 _'Death or a loss… Sadness or grief from the death or loss of a loved one, though natural, may increase the risk of depression.'_ Sasuke read and re-read the statement. He left two years ago… Was it possible that Sakura's depression had been triggered by him?

 _"It can't be." Sasuke thought to himself. "It says death or a loss… I didn't die. And she didn't lose me… and it looks like it would be pretty severe in the case of death. So it can't be this." Sasuke reasoned out. Sasuke still remembered the day he left, with Sakura crying on the train platform._

 _Suddenly it clicked. Sasuke's eyes widened. "She said mild depression… She thought she lost me. Negative rumination makes it worse."_

 _"She didn't know I was going to return."_

Sasuke remembered what Kakashi had said to him in the corridor, "She's moved on".

But evidently, even after two years, she hadn't.

* * *

It was 3.17 a.m. Sasuke was still awake, going through many websites, assimilating as much as he could about depression.

It was soft at first, so he thought he was imagining it. But after a few seconds there were three sharp knocks on his door. He glanced at the clock once again, noting the time and wondering who the hell would be up at this ungodly hour. Realizing that he still hadn't changed out of his uniform, he sighed. If it was a supervisor, he'd probably get into trouble for being awake.

He opened the door and was astonished to see messy pink locks and green eyes staring at him. Noticing his surprise, she hastily said, "I woke up and was hungry so I went to the pantry and noticed the light under your door." She held up olive and tomato crackers, "Want some?" she asked hesitantly. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the sudden disappearance of Sakura's death stares and glares. What happened to "Stay the hell away from me?"

"Hn." replied Sasuke, he turned around and stalked back to the inner confines of his room. Sakura took his lack of response as a yes and entered, closing the door behind her. She opened the packet of crackers and broke the first piece in half, giving one to Sasuke who accepted it without a word.

"Watcha doing?" Sakura asked, glancing around his neatly kept room. He didn't respond and instead chose to continue reading. Even the tshirt and pants on his bed were neatly folded. It was probably what he wore to sleep.

Sakura let out an unexpected gasp. Sasuke turned around and stared at her, "What?"

"Sasuke you're disgusting! It's three in the morning! Change your clothes." Sasuke's eyes slanted and he grabbed the clothes on his bed, disappearing into the washroom, but not before Sakura heard him say "tsk, how annoying." She rolled her eyes.

Sakura looked at the laptop screen with rapt attention, noticing that he was reading about the side effects of fluoxetine. _"Decreased sex drive or sexual performance…Some people who have used fluoxetine have experienced decreased sex drive or sexual performance. The reason for this is not known."_ Sakura blushed a deep shade of red.

A throat cleared behind her and Sakura yelped.

In the most clinical voice he could muster, Sasuke asked "Have you experienced any of the side effects?"

Sakura shakily said "No..oo….Especially not…" she didn't complete her sentence and Sasuke suddenly felt his neck warm up.

"Have you been reading about depression this whole time?" Sakura asked him timidly. He nodded curtly and grabbed another cracker. Sakura gasped once again. "Now what?" Sasuke said unexpectedly.

"Did you have dinner?!" Sakura questioned accusingly. Sasuke didn't say anything.

"I'm going to get ramen from the pantry." Sakura said and got up. Sasuke grabbed her wrist (once again, she noticed) and pulled her towards him. "There's no need for that," he said, ignoring the red tinge on her ears. He stared at the bandages around her right hand, "How's the burn?" It took Sakura a while to process what he was saying, since her heart was hammering so incredibly loudly that her ears felt like a drum.

"Um… Oh yeah. It's better. I put the antiseptic and new bandages. The antiseptic burns like hell though," Sakura said with a shudder. What Sasuke did next shocked Sakura out of her bones.

He gingerly touched her fingers and looked up at her, "Why does Sai call you Ugly?"

Sakura stared at him, unable to accept the fact that Sasuke was acting so unlike himself at the moment. On the other hand, it was three in the morning and he was probably sleep deprived.

"That's just a silly nickname. He calls Naruto dickless. Sai's a bit socially clueless you see…" Sakura said with a slight laugh as she stared down at Sasuke, who was still holding on to her wrist.

"He must be blind." Sasuke said quietly. Sakura blinked twice and blushed deeply. She tugged her hand away and moved towards the door. "I'm going back to my room now. Goodnight… Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's ears perked up at the honorific and he stared at her as she exited his room, unable to comprehend the sudden heightening of his heart beat. _"Must be the lack of sleep,"_ he thought to himself as he shut down his laptop.

Outside his room, Sakura was freaking out. _"I'm pretty sure he just said I'm not ugly. Which is true. But a compliment coming from him. Holy shit. Omg. This never happened. He's sleepy. It's 3."_ Thoughts streamed through her mind at a rapid rate. She didn't sleep after that.


End file.
